Hello everyone, thanks in advance for commenting.
I am currently attending Georgia State University as a Junior.
My GPA is a 3.92
LSAT is a 174
I am on Debate team
Have many community service hours here in the U.S. and in Haiti
Student aid here at GSU
Your chances are [very good](http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com/wp-content/uploads/Law-School-Predictor-Full-Time-Programs.htm). LSATs are good for 5 years though, so you should take some time before applying (or defer) to get in some work experience. Just as important, do you have any firsthand experience with working in a law firm?
I’ve sat on 3 cases with my dad’s colleague. They both work for a law firm here in Atlanta. Also does being in the Honors College contribute? @Demosthenes49
@ajp310: Sitting in on a case is fine, but the practice of law is mostly conducted outside the courtroom. That’s the part I want to be sure you have experience with, because it’s what leads to unhappy lawyers.
The Honors College, debate, community service, and student aid won’t matter to most law schools. Your numbers make you competitive for Yale, however, which will care (should you choose to apply), and Stanford, which may care.
@Demosthenes49 thank you for saying that. I tried very hard throughout my college career. So law schools primarily consider LSAT grade, UGPA and experience(?).
@ajp310: Most law schools do not care about experience either (exceptions being Northwestern, Yale, and potentially Stanford). Employers care about experience, and experience is the only way I know of to tell if law is right for you. Law has startlingly high depression and substance abuse rates, partially because what people actually do and what people picture themselves doing diverge quite a bit. It’s far better to find out before law school what law practice is really like than to be stuck in a profession you hate.
ajp310, I expect that you should get in everywhere with your numbers since they’re so far above the medians, but HLS at least strongly recommends taking at least a year off to work, and thus so would I. Working in a law firm isn’t necessarily the best thing to do–do something that ties into one of your deepest passions in life, no matter how much or how little it pays, and spend a year doing it. Talk about that experience when you’re applying (even if you apply to law school during that year). With that, while it’s impossible to say for sure how any admissions committee would decide, I’d think that you’d be in very good shape for getting in everywhere. One caveat: your numbers are so strong that some law schools (ranked below Columbia/Harvard/etc.) might reject you since they’d figure that you wouldn’t go to them, and they don’t want to have a lot of people turning down their offers.
@HappyAlumnus @Demosthenes49 thank you guys very much for your comments. So you suggest me take a year off and work and try to figure out what kind of law I would primarily like to focus on? I will definitely consider that! And so you think I stand a chance at Yale/Stanford?
Your numbers are such that you won’t be an auto-reject at Y & S. But they have small classes relative to other law schools, so they can pick and choose. Unlike Harvard (in which you have an extremely high chance) which is a numbers game due to its extremely large class size, Y, S, and even Chicago consider the ECs.
I suggest just taking a year off and working – any work, including retail, is better than going direct to LS. But you can also follow your interests – volunteer/work at a legal aid society, for example, if you have an interest in that type of work.
Even if you don’t get into HYS, a year or two of work experience might make you more competitive for one of the really big scholarships at the other T10.
@bluebayou @HappyAlumnus @Demosthenes49 Thank you. So i have a very good chance at Harvard and just a good chance at Y and S? What about Columbia, Cornell or Georgetown. I rank them:
@ajp310: I already gave you the link, you can look at the schools yourself. You can also take a look at Law School Numbers, which has plenty of data on each of the schools.
ajp310, you should get into Harvard, Yale and Stanford–your numbers are just THAT high. However, you can’t rest assured with any of those schools, and so taking a year off–not to find what area of law you like the most, but to live your passion (and then you can see how law fits into that passion later on).
You should get into Columbia, Cornell and Georgetown with no question. If any of those give scholarships, you should get them. I take it that you don’t want to stay in the South; if you did, Duke should be pouring money on you.
@HappyAlumnus thank you. I was not aware of how strong my numbers really were. I will also consider Vanderbilt, Emory (dad went there), and Duke. I was thinking of volunteering abroad for a year.
I usually don’t disagree with Happy Alum, but Yale has such a relatively small first year class, that it likes to play the role of little miss matchmaker–that is to say, they can be overtly persnickety. I do agree that your scores will dictate that they give you a serious and long look. Of the top 4-5 schools, Y on a yearly basis has probably a higher average starting age, than the other schools. They are always on the lookout for elite scores coupled with a demonstration that someone is going to do something interesting and meaningful in their life. For example, say overseeing a water sanitation project in Rwanda, rather than previous work at a hedge fund.
Not seeing Yale…too many really unique applicants. For example, former traveling rock star; professional skydiver; Olympic competitor; published poets – you get the idea.
A few community service hours and a middlin’ school just ain’t gonna cut it at either Y or S.
btw: don’t waste your money on Emory.
Umm, at another thread, you said you have a 3.6 and interested in cinematic arts.
@boolaHI, you’re right. I looked at some of those “scattergrams” and Yale does seem to be iffy for anyone without a 4.0/180.
OP, you still would at least be considered by Yale. Take a year off and go hug trees and orphans in Africa–if that’s your passion- and your application anywhere will be strengthened.
@bluebayou, you’re right- don’t waste time with Emory.
75% of the current HLS intake, and 70% of Columbia’s are “at least” 1 year out from UG.
@HappyAlumnus, I think you got played.
@cbreeze idk what your trying to prove. That last comment was for my friend cus I was try to prove him wrong about attending USC with a 3.6 gpa. happy??